SLEEP SOLUTIONS IN FARMINGTON, CT
Dental Associates provides sleep apnea and snoring treatment in Farmington, CT. Call us today at 860-677-8666 to learn more and schedule your appointment.
Obstructive sleep apnea, also known as OSA, affects 18 to 30 million adults in the United States. This chronic medical condition causes sufferers to stop breathing for brief intervals during the night, raises the risks for other health conditions, and can lead to sudden death.
Snoring is one of the most common symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea, yet snoring can also be caused by everything from sinus shape to allergies, even a head cold. At Dental Associates, we have undergone extensive training in dental sleep therapy. We work hand in hand with local physicians to accurately diagnose and effectively treat sleep related disorders.
Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
Snoring is not the only symptom of sleep apnea. Although each person is different, you may experience some of the following:
- Daytime sleepiness
- Noticeable nighttime pauses in breathing
- Nighttime teeth grinding
If you have mild sleep apnea, you may easily chalk these symptoms up to other causes. If your sleep apnea is more severe, though, you may wake at night with the sensation of drowning or feel unable to catch your breath. You might also feel unable to stay awake during the day, even if you got a lot of sleep the night before.
Diagnosing Sleep Apnea
A sleep study is the only way to definitively diagnose sleep apnea. A traditional sleep study takes place in a medical sleep lab, where you will spend the night in a hospital bed hooked up to electrodes, a nasal monitor, an EKG monitor, and possibly a microphone and elastic bands. In the morning, you will be awakened by a tech and allowed to freshen up before going home. The results of the sleep study will be sent to your doctor.
Although sleep labs try to make patients comfortable, many prefer a home sleep test. This allows you to track the needed data from the comfort of your own bed. If you qualify, you will be given a small monitoring system and directions for hooking up the monitoring devices. No electrodes are used in home sleep testing. You will use the system for one to three nights, and then return it to the coordinating office. You will receive your results and share them with your doctor and/or dentist.
If you are diagnosed with sleep apnea, we will work diligently with your doctor to develop the best individualized treatment plan for you. If you do not have sleep apnea, but do snore, we also have a variety of techniques to reduce or eliminate snoring. In either case, we are dedicated to the proper diagnosis and treatment of all sleep related disorders.
If you would like to learn more about how we can treat sleep apnea and snoring, please call Dental Associates today at 860-677-8666 to schedule your appointment.